Trade Winds (Choc Lit) (22 page)

He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. This was madness. He really must stop this. Soon he’d be on his way to China, and although that would temporarily save him from any consequences of seducing Jessamijn, he would eventually return and have to face the music.

Besides, could he really do that to her? She had enough to contend with. She didn’t deserve to be treated badly by him as well.

No, he would have to leave her alone from now on. It was up to him to be strong for both of them.

Still, a little bit of flirting never did anyone any harm and they had to pass the time somehow. He would keep it light and not go too far. Surely, he should be able to manage that?

He ignored the little voice inside his head which told him he was a fool.

Chapter Eighteen

Askeberga, Småland

‘Ah, pickled herring, how nice. There’s nothing like a varied diet, is there?’

Killian tore off a bite of bread with perfect teeth and lifted a forkful of fish to his mouth. Jess caught herself staring at him, and turned away to concentrate on her own plate. A giggle welled up inside her and she had to turn it into a cough, but it was impossible to suppress it entirely. She couldn’t help but enjoy his dry humour and the sarcastic comment about the herring was exactly how she herself felt about the food. Monotonous didn’t even begin to describe it.

‘Mr Fergusson believes one should only eat meat once a week unless one has guests,’ Mrs Forbes informed Killian in a croaky voice. ‘Fish is better for the constitution.’

‘And cheaper,’ Killian muttered.

‘What was that?’ Mrs Forbes was sitting at the opposite end of the long table and hadn’t caught his comment, but Jess did. She spluttered into her bread and coughed again, then sent him a look imploring him to behave.

‘I said, this herring is particularly tasty,’ Killian said in a louder voice. ‘Although it has been my experience that it’s even better when washed down with
snaps
.’

‘Alcohol? Oh, I don’t think …’ Mrs Forbes stopped, then began again. ‘Ah, yes, you gentlemen do seem to have a preference for such things, don’t you.’

‘You should have some too, Mrs Forbes. I’ve been told it’s the best cure for colds and prevents congestion of the lungs. After that sleigh ride, you must be chilled to the bone.’ Killian gave Mrs Forbes his most charming smile and the older woman blinked.

‘You don’t say?’

‘But of course. You must have heard that yourself, dear lady. In fact, I believe it was Mr Fergusson himself who told me.’

‘Really? Well, in that case, perhaps I ought to try. Just a tiny measure, you know.’

Jess glanced at Killian. What was he playing at now? She had no doubt he was doing this on purpose. Jess had never seen Mrs Forbes drink anything other than whisky. The woman was forever preaching about the evils of drinking
snaps,
but here she was, ready to try some for herself.

The strong drink was ordered from the kitchen, and soon arrived with two small glasses of finest crystal. Jess wasn’t offered any, but then she hadn’t expected it. Killian kept his eyes on Mrs Forbes while he downed his measure in one go. She followed suit, apparently without thinking, but gasped and wheezed loudly. Soon after, she was overtaken by another bout of coughing.

‘Dear Lord,’ she spluttered eventually, overcome by the strength of the more or less pure alcohol.

‘Don’t worry,’ Killian said. ‘It tastes foul, but you’ll soon feel the beneficial effects, I promise. One more, just to be on the safe side.’

‘No, no, I couldn’t possibly.’ But as soon as her cough had subsided, Jess was amazed to see her companion swallow another full glass, after which she just hiccoughed. ‘Oh, I say, it does warm you rather, doesn’t it?’ Mrs Forbes smiled, for the first time that week. Jess looked from Killian to her companion and back again.

He was enjoying himself, she could see that. The mischievous glint was back in his eyes and Jess narrowed her own eyes at him. She tried to send him another warning glance, which he ignored completely. Somehow, he managed to talk Mrs Forbes into having a third glass, then a fourth. Following this it was an easy matter to persuade her to retire early so that she could recuperate from the journey.

‘Don’t worry about Miss van Sandt,’ Killian assured her as he escorted the old lady to the stairs, ‘I’ll look after her. Just you find your bed and recover from your ordeal. I really don’t know what Mr Fergusson was doing, sending you out into the cold in your condition. Most un-gentlemanly of him.’

Mrs Forbes nodded and thanked him, and made no further protests. With an unsteady gait, she went off to bed without so much as a look at her charge. Jess stared after her and shook her head, then turned to give Killian an accusing glare.

‘You, sir, are a complete scoundrel,’ she told him.

He grinned and bowed. ‘Why, thank you. I’m so glad my efforts meet with your approval.’ He came round to stand behind her chair and bent to nuzzle her neck. ‘Now where were we, Jessamijn?’

She swatted him away. ‘We were finished,’ she told him firmly.

‘Oh, I don’t think so. Not even close.’ He kissed his way along her collar bone and although it was covered by the material of her dress, the kisses still burned her through the heavy wool.

‘Killian, for heaven’s sake,’ she hissed. ‘The servants will see you.’

He sighed deeply and stopped at last, sauntering back to his chair. ‘Sadly, you’re right. I suppose I’ll have to behave for a little longer.’ He picked up his glass and refilled it with another measure of
snaps
.

‘Do you really like that stuff?’ she couldn’t resist asking.

‘No, it’s vile. I much prefer whisky or wine, but since this is all that’s available, I’ll have to put up with it. It takes away the taste of fish.’

She smothered a smile. He was incorrigible. She knew she ought to disapprove of his behaviour, but instead she was charmed. Probably just as he intended. Well, if he thought she would be an easy victim, he was in for a surprise. Charming or not, Jess had no intention of letting him go any further with his seduction. No man would get into her skirts before first putting a wedding band on her finger, and that didn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.

She sighed wistfully. How she wished a man like Killian would marry her, if only to spite her stepfather and force him to hand over her meagre dowry. It would serve Robert right. Not that she wouldn’t have married Killian for other reasons, if he’d asked. But that wasn’t going to happen either, she knew.

She stared morosely at the leftovers of her pudding, congealing on her plate. Her appetite had deserted her and she almost reached for the
snaps
herself. Perhaps that would take away some of the bitter taste in her mouth at the thought of what her stepfather was doing. If only she could thwart him. If only she could find herself a husband without his knowledge …

She glanced at Killian, who also seemed lost in thought for the moment. Seeing him knock back another glass of alcohol, however, gave her brain a jolt. An idea began to take shape inside her head. She mulled it over for a while, and a plan formed, slowly but surely. It might work, or it might not. Either way, it was worth a try.

The
snaps
decanter was almost empty. ‘Would you like some more?’ she asked. ‘I can have the servants refill it.’

He gave her a measuring stare, but she opened her eyes wide and stared back, feigning innocence. ‘I suppose it will help to pass the time,’ he replied.

Jess picked up the little bell placed on the table near where Mrs Forbes normally sat and rang for a servant. One of the maids came running and soon had the decanter filled to the brim once more.

‘Will there be anything else, Miss?’ she asked.

‘No, thank you. That is all.’

Jess watched her leave, then turned back to Killian. ‘Could I try a little please? I wouldn’t mind getting rid of the fish taste myself.’

His eyebrows rose, but he made no comment, only filled the glass and passed it over to her. She took a small sip, then almost choked, her eyes watering while she fought for breath. ‘Good heavens, how can you drink a whole glassful in one go? That’s disgusting.’

‘I told you so, but you get used to it.’

He took the glass back and finished its contents, before filling it again. Jess thought that must be at least his sixth one, and wondered if he was drunk yet. It was hard to tell with him. He wasn’t swaying or slurring his words, the way her stepfather did when he’d had too much whisky. On the other hand, how could anyone drink that much and stay sober? It seemed impossible. Just the one sip had made her knees feel wobbly.

She made small talk until he’d had two more glasses, then surreptitiously checked for signs of drunkenness. Looking into his eyes, she thought they had a somewhat glazed expression. They weren’t quite as focussed as before, but she still wasn’t sure so she decided to test him.

‘Shall we retire to the parlour for a while?’ she suggested. ‘That will give the maids a chance to clear the table here. Or would you prefer to go straight to bed?’

‘Are you offering to accompany me?’ The mischievous glint was back in his eyes and Jess felt her cheeks heat up.

‘That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it.’ She stood up and made her way to the door, turning round to watch his progress across the room. Were there any signs of unsteadiness, she wondered? To her delight, he stumbled on the edge of the carpet and had to grab the nearest chair to keep upright. Jess hid a smile and headed for the next room.

The parlour was a beautiful room, well-proportioned and with a row of tall windows facing a lake. However, the sheer size of it meant that it was freezing in winter. The fire didn’t appear to have been lit since last time someone visited the house and a musty smell of damp wood and furnishings permeated the room. Jess ignored this and gathered her shawl around her for warmth. She went over to draw the thick curtains to stop the draughts that whistled in around the window frames. Then she sat down on a small settee on the other side of the room. She wished she could kick off her shoes and pull her feet up underneath her, because the wind was finding its way into the room in between the thick oak planks of the floor as well.

Killian threw himself down next to her. Although he was much too close for comfort, she made no comment. When he leaned his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, she moved to accommodate him.

‘Are you feeling all right?’ she asked.

‘Never better. The room is spinning a little, but if you don’t mind me keeping my eyes closed for a while, that will soon stop.’

Jess waited to see whether the alcohol would have any more effect on him. She had heard it sometimes took a while, but once it entered the blood, the person who had been drinking would become virtually incapacitated. They often remembered nothing of their actions the following day. That would suit her just fine, she thought, although at the same time guilt at what she was contemplating shot through her.

‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ he asked and peered at her suspiciously.

‘I’m just being polite. It would be impolite of me to tell a guest to stop leaning on me if he is feeling unwell, don’t you think?’

‘Nonsense.’

He levered himself up so that they were face to face, and Jess could smell the alcohol fumes on his breath. Normally, she would have found this offensive, but somehow she didn’t this time. When he smiled and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, a shiver of anticipation shimmered through her. She parted her lips, knowing what was coming.

She wasn’t disappointed.

This time the kiss was positively indecent and the taste of the
snaps
made it extra intoxicating to her senses. The alcohol tasted so much better this way than straight from the glass, and she kissed him back with abandon.

‘You’re learning fast,’ he breathed, sounding pleased. His hand came up to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer and stroking the nape of her neck. This sent little darts of pleasure down her spine and she brought both hands up to tangle her fingers in his auburn hair. The ribbon around his queue came undone and the mass of silky strands fell about
his face. Jess revelled in the feel of it and gave herself up to the wonderful sensations he was creating with his mouth, kissing
her, sucking her bottom lip and playing with his tongue.

The sound of one of the maids giggling in the dining room made her come to her senses and she tore her mouth away. ‘Wait, no. Stop, please.’

She hardly recognised her own voice, so husky with desire was it. It was a shock to realise how close she had come to succumbing to Killian’s lovemaking. He stilled, but didn’t let go of her, just held her close while their breathing slowed down a little. She tried to think rationally and made herself focus on the plan she had hatched even though the mere thought of what she was about to do made her want to hang her head in shame.

‘Killian?’

‘Hmm.’ He had his eyes closed again and was leaning his forehead against her bosom.

‘Will you marry me?’

His head came up, his eyes wide open and he blinked several times. ‘What did you say?’ He let go of her and sat up, staring at her. Jess swallowed hard, afraid she’d made a mistake. He obviously wasn’t as drunk as she had hoped, but he swayed slightly, which reassured her, so she gathered her courage and ploughed on.